


Science Museum

by RoyalMileven



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Curiosity Voyage, El being a curious girl p. 2, Gen, i love them sm, museum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-20 16:16:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16140878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoyalMileven/pseuds/RoyalMileven
Summary: El learns about her birthday and zodiac sign + Hopper takes his little girl to a science museum. Ft. Will and Joyce





	Science Museum

"El, get dressed."

"What?"

"I said get dressed." Hopper grinned.

She got up from her bed, frowning in confusion. "Is Mike coming here?"

He sighed. "Um, no... he has school, you know. But I have a surprise."

"Suprise?"

"Yeah, I want to surprise you. Do something nice you haven't expected. So dress up. And take something warm, it's cold outside."

"We're going outside?" she beamed. Hopper nodded. "Yeah. And you're wasting your time!"

El still didn't understand what he meant. But yeah, sure. She hurried into her room and shut the door behind her. Nancy gave her some new clothes that January and she was glad she did. The girl quickly put on the black pants, T-shirt and shirt on it, not forgetting the suspenders Hopper and she received on Christmas from Joyce.

Her hair was still short tho, so she brushed it with her hand, exited the room and almost jumped in excitement when her father handed her the warm coat. "Is it my birth-day?" she asked him curiously.

"Birthday? Why?"

"Max is having birth-day this month. Do I have birth-day?"

Chief chuckled, ruffling her curls. "Of course you have a birthday, El. Everybody has a birthday."

"Really?"

"Sure."

"Yours? When?"

He gave her a slight roll of eyes. "July 29th, kid," he said, then bent down to tie the laces of her boots. Of course, she could tie her shoelaces, but it sometimes took her long. El let out a frustrated sigh. "Mine is when?"

"Birthday you mean?"

"Yes," she said, locking the door of their cabin, then quickly catching up with Hopper outside. El took a look around, smiling at the presence of snow. Chief sighed. "June 11th." he gave her a smile. Jane's jaw dropped. "I'm Eleven on eleventh?"

"You really are."

"Cool." El let out a breath and sat up in the shot-gun of Hopper's truck. "Mike's birth-day?"

Jim gave her another roll of eyes. "Look in the door pocket. There are some files."

"Files?"

"Yeah. Papers. Yours, Mike's, Will's, Steve's... it's better to have it with me than having some spies in the station looking through it."

As El discovered within a second, there were files of every people they were involved with her. Mike, Nancy, Dustin, Byers', Lucas, Steve, Max... everyone. Even his own file was there. She quickly opened the first one, unable to stop grinning over Mike's photo. He looked so annoyed there, just because he had to be in the station probably. "October 8th," she informed Hopper.

"It's possible."

"He's... older?"

"Yeah. I think you're the youngest one from your... whatever you call it. The Group?"

"The Party," she answered him, mirroring his roll of eyes. In the files, there was maybe too much information for her, so she rather put it back in its place, hidden under some car cleaners. Hopper pulled into the driveway of Joyce's house. El raised his eyebrows at him. "Is this my sur-prise?"

Jim gave her an amused smile. "No." Gosh, she was so impatient. But he shouldn't be wondering why, she has been torn off the world her whole life, so it's normal to be curious. Joyce and Will came out of the house, waving at them. "Will?"

"He had a doctor appointment today, so he and Joyce are coming with us. Figured out you're too bored with me since the last year."

"I am." the girl admitted without hesitation.

"Hey!" he laughed. In a few minutes, they all pilled up to the truck. Will, Joyce nor El had no idea that there could be pulled out backseats too, so the kids ended up in the back, while Joyce took El's place next to Hopper. "Hi, sweetheart!" Joyce smiled at El.

"I made some breakfast to all of us. Hop said you usually wake up around ten, so I guess it's still too early and you didn't eat yet. Here." she handed two bags with food to her kids (Joyce has already claimed El, Mike, and even Nancy as her own, so. But she didn't need to claim El, she was her daughter since she found her boy) with a smile.

"Are you excited?" she asked El.

El nodded. After Snowball, it was her first time out again. Will smiled at her, too. They had this kind of special bond nobody would understand. Even these two didn't understand the connection between them, but yeah, it was there. Not only they both loved the same person, they both've been through trauma nobody has experienced. Of course, there was Kali from the Lab, too. But Will has been something different. And honestly, they didn't need words to really talk. He hanged out with El more than the rest of the Party last days, because his body still had some troubles after what happened in November. The rest of them were busy with school. So most of the time, Joyce dropped Will in the cabin, sometimes shared a cigarette with Hop, while Will and El sat in the warmth of her bed, she read some of his books and him drawing. Not talking, but content. Sometimes, they even fell asleep in the same bed. Hopper stopped minding it after Joyce kind of explained they are like siblings. But if it was Wheeler and not Will, that would probably end up bad. El was a spooner, she just liked to cuddle, snuggle next to the person who was with her (it didn't matter if it was Mike, Will, Max nor Dustin) and fall asleep in a presence of a person she loves.

Once, she fell asleep like that next to Hopper when they were watching one of the Indiana Jones movies, and honestly, she was something like a big teddy bear. 

_Star-crossed twins_  by Lucas' words. "Will? Joyce? When is your birth-day?"

His greenish eyes looked at her. "March 22nd. I'm Aries."

"What is Aries?"

"A zodiac sign. Every person has their zodiac sign. There are twelve of them. My mom's Sagittarius, Jonathan's Virgo, Mike's Libra, Dustin's Cancer..."

"Oh. What's mine?"

Hopper spoke up. "She was born on June 11th."

"I think you are Gemini. I'm not sure tho. But I can bring you a book about zodiac signs if you want."

"Yes!"

The conversation about zodiac signs ended with that. El took her book, currently reading 'Anne of Green Gables' all by herself and not Hopper (which she was extremely proud of) and Will returned to drawing. But after a while, El couldn't concentrate on the words in the book, so she closed it and started staring out of the window. She was quietly playing with the blue hair tie on her left wrist.

El leaned her head against the glass of the car. Her eyes were full of awe and wonder as they drove past the snowy landscape. Even though it was all just white, it was something so beautiful. The way the hills curved and the trees were green and white. She had a different point of view than last year. Her lips slightly parted as they went past the stadium full of ice-skaters.

"What's that?" she asked with opened mouth. El had to blink a few times.

Will raised his eyes up from the drawing. "It's called ice-skating. You can skate on ice, or when it's not ice, it's rollerblading. But I don't know how that works, anyway. I'm not good it in. When I was seven, I broke my arm because of skating."

"Oh."

"Bikes are better much better." Will shrugged. 

El leaned towards Hop's seat. "Hop?"

"Yeah, kid?"

She thought a few seconds how to decline 'skating'. "Can you... skate?"

From some unknown reason, Joyce in the shotgun started laughing. All three of them looked at her in confusion, but she seemed to not be able to stop her laughter. Will smiled, tho. It was one of the rare times she really laughed from her heart since Bob's death. Hopper noticed it, too. After all, maybe she'll recover from his death. Not fully, but she will partly. Plus, smile suited her.

"Did I say something wrong?" El croaked out.

Joyce shook her head immediately, assuring her in a no. "No, no, sweetheart." she took a deep breath, then pointed at Hopper, while a new shot of laughter came from her mouth. "I just imagined Hop in those pink rollerbladers, cruising in the middle of pavement-"

"Haha. Very funny."

"-and trying to catch a criminal."

Will let out a laugh too, while El was still confused. She didn't know what rollerbladers are. The boy made a mental note for himself to take her rollerblading in summer, maybe she would be better than him.

After more than fifty minutes, passing by 'Welcome to Indianapolis' sign, Hopper stopped. "We're here."

Her eyes opened wide. "We are?" she unfastened the seatbelt fastly. Slithering through the space between two seats in front, she looked what was before them. It was a huge brick building with so many windows and with 'SCIENCE MUSEUM' written on it. She remembered Dustin had mentioned something about this... But still, El crawled over Joyce, opened the door and got out of the car, staring at the museum with awe.

"Come on!"

"Gosh, kid." Hopper laughed and locked his car after Joyce and Will got out too. She literally hopped towards the entrance. "Hop, it's closed." Joyce frowned at Hopper who just shook his head at the sign. Opening the door, they were welcomed empty hallways and booking office. A woman sat behind the glass, bored very much and reading some crappy magazines.

Hopper knocked on the window. The redhead behind the glass shifted her eyes towards him. "Sir, we are closed, haven't you noticed the sign?" she sighed, turning the page of her magazine.

"I'm Doctor Owens' friend."

"Sam's?"

"Yeah, that one's." Hopper nodded.

Sandra, as her tag said, smacked her lips. "You can go in. But you have only an hour and a half, then there will be some kids from middle school."

"Great," he said to the woman, then turned back. "Let's go!"

El beamed with joy, taking Will's hand and literally dragging him inside the huge rooms of the museum. Their parents just followed them with grins on their faces. Their steps were echoing, but it just added to the atmosphere. Eleven's eyes traced all around, lips parting in wonder as there were new things she has only seen on TV. There was this replica of the huge spaceship (which wasn't similar to any of Star Wars ships). She has seen it on TV that they landed on the Moon. Moon. On that thing in the sky!

Once Lucas and Dustin were trying to convince her it was fake. They explained that the film industry in the U.S. is the best, so it was possible to fake it all. Something against commies. She didn't really understand that. She knew from Hopper that there was this rivalry of the USA against Russia, but she had no idea why. History wasn't her cup of tea, especially when it clicked in her mind - she was a gun against Russians.

There was another whole section about space, too. She found herself liking the topic of it. Stars, planets, suns... _black holes_. El stared on the big blackboard with the description of the black hole. She was slowly tearing up. The girl looked around, but Hopper was nowhere. That made her relax.   _A black hole is a place in space where gravity pulls so much that even light can not get out. The gravity is so strong because matter has been squeezed into a tiny space. This can happen when a star is dying- enough._ El stopped reading and rather paced to another board with planets.

As Max said once, she nor El was a science nerd. But El knew at that moment she loved space. "Will? When you'll go back to the library, bring me some books?" she asked the boy next to her.

"Of course. But first, you have to return them. I already got the limit."

She frowned. "But I read them all already."

"Don't worry." Will grinned at her.

They both took a deep breath when it was a dark entrance in front of them. It was a big black box and they had no idea what was waiting ahead for them. El swallowed, reaching for Will's hand again. She noticed the difference with holding hands - with Mike, there was a weird but exciting electricity between them. With Max or Dustin during horror movies, it was just an anchor and somewhat signal that they were still watching a movie (but El was the biggest chicken shit, even after all she has experienced. Mike found it really cute tho). With Will, she felt different safe than with Mike. She also felt empathy. They weren't alone in this. Will squeezed her hand before they both removed the dark cloth on the side, stepping into the box.

They were welcomed by a hundred light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. They both gasped. Some of the bulbs were turned on, creating an ornament up on the ceiling. El took a step forward, right to the closest bulb. They were all on the same level as Will and El were. She touched the bulb gently and it lightened under her touch. "Is it you or..." Will blinked.

"I don't know," El admitted with a smile. "Try it?"

He blinked and caught up to El's place, while her hand left the bulb, he touched it. It lightened under his fingerprints and he backed off in surprise. He didn't know it was just all her. El tried to suppress her smile. "This is cool."

"Can I try something?"

Will nodded. "Go ahead."

The girl took a deep breath before she focused on the electricity running through the bulbs. She closed her eyes for a few seconds. And when she opened it, both of the teenagers were staring at the light flicking at regular intervals. Will grinned. He knew she had these powers, many times she had to use them for something bad. And everything that happened with lights last November, the Demogorgon, the Upside Down... it was all gone. It made him feel different. This was different, this was beautiful.

He stepped forward again, leaving El behind him. Will traced between the bulbs, spinning around, enjoying the show. It was a paradise for his aesthetic soul. It was a salve on his wounds. He wished he stayed in here, able to capture it somehow. But then - "Will?!" Joyce's voice went from outside.

They both jumped. "Quickly out, before mom sees this and freaks out."  

The flicking stopped and they both exited the box, turning around to see their parents. "Enjoying the museum?" Hopper asked with a smile.

"Yeah." Will and El nodded together.

Joyce's face lightened up. "What's inside?" she pointed at the box. Their kids looked at each other before El blurted out: "Lights! Um, um..."

"Bulbs!" Will added. "It's, um, flicking."

"Flicking?" Joyce frowned in confusion. The kids looked at each other again, then at Hopper to save them. "I wanted to show El the dinosaurs, right? Joyce, you comin'?" he put his arms around Will's and El's shoulders, leading them away from the box.

The woman bit her lip. "Yeah, of course." she didn't forget to give the box one last look full of hatred.

The only dinosaur El knew was from Dustin's hoodie. Well, technically, she knew only the skeleton of it. So it wasn't a surprise when she stared at the live versions of dinosaurs, wondering how this could live on Earth once. It was so big and long and its teeth! She even had to tilt her head up to see everything.

"This is Brontosaurus. He only ate plants, meaning he's a herbivore. I like him, he's more peaceful than Tyrannosaurus Rex and this kind of dinosaurs. I was freaked out just by stories about dinosaurs when I was little." Will told El.

She chuckled. "Why?"

"I don't know." he shrugged. "But later I found out there are worse things than extinct dinosaurs." El nodded at that. She understood.

Dinosaurs were pretty neat and interesting, but the girl's opinion was still 'space is better'. However, she started to get why were the boys so interested in science. Some of it was unexplainable, some of it completely canceled other theories. There was a category too. Something that wasn't possible but was there. She was the living example. Hawkins was a living example.

It was time to go. Will successfully resisted his mom's attempts to put on one more layer, while Hopper and El watched them with amusement. "Did you like it? I know how much into this stuff are the boys, so I found out maybe you would want to catch up a little..." Hopper said.

The girl looked at him and grinned. "It was cool. Thank you."

"Anything for you, kid." kissing the top of her head, they hurried to the car. Once they pilled up in the truck again and the kids had finally eaten Joyce's breakfast, Will asked with a grin: "Can we take El to the Art Gallery next time?"

El was sure her 'curiosity voyage' wasn't satisfied only by the science museum.

**Author's Note:**

> If anybody wants to listen to my kinda aesthetic playlist, check this out! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBCbNubCd9uyPMCYvsefXfKjrWB2V1k0_


End file.
